It’s already been a year since Gov. Andrew Cuomo abruptly called off the dreaded 15-month L train shutdown, replacing it with a “slowdown,” to repair the Canarsie Tunnel. 

Back in December 2018, median asking rents in the neighborhood fell to $2,899/month, according to StreetEasy. Then, in early January 2019, when Gov. Cuomo announced that the complete shutdown of the L train would be called off, renters began to return to the neighborhood, and landlords went back to raising their prices.

By November 2019, median asking rents in the neighborhood reached a record high of $3,675/month, a whopping 26.7 percent higher than the year prior. 

Originally, the L was due to stop running between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 15 months to facilitate the tunnel’s repairs, a move that would have left Williamsburg (and other neighborhoods along the L) with few options for getting to Manhattan. Instead, the project became a ‘slowdown’ with reduced service on nights and weekends. Work is now expected to be completed in the next few months. 

(source: NYC Curbed)